The sleep disorder has been called "Orthosomnia," derived from
"ortho" meaning to correct, and "somnia" meaning sleep. It has
particularly affected people who use Fitbits or apps to track
their sleep, like Sleep Cycle.

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The researchers say in the paper that people are becoming
concerned about getting the perfect night's sleep - and it's
stopping them from actually getting it.

"There are an increasing number of patients who are seeking
treatment as a result of their sleep tracker data because of
concerns over both sleep duration and quality," the study says.
"Patients are preoccupied or concerned with improving or
perfecting their wearable sleep data."

They likened it to orthorexia, which is the unhealthy
preoccupation with eating healthily, to the point that it's
actually unhealthy.

Sleep trackers become an obsession that's hard to ignore

The issue with sleep trackers arises when people rely on them
completely. When their sleep data isn't perfect, they end up
diagnosing themselves with problems.

For example, the paper looked at three case studies where adults
sought out help for their sleep issues. In one, a 40-year-old man
complained of "light and fragmented sleep" as well as
"irritability, cognitive difficulties (poor attention, memory,
and concentration), and fatigue during the day."

He said he only had these symptoms when his tracker told him he
got less than eight hours of sleep the night before.

Although his goal was to have eight hours consistently every
night, the man would occasionally look at his phone throughout
the night to answer texts and emails, and he would work right up
until trying to sleep.

Sleep scientists are all agreed that screens are terrible for our
sleep. The bright lights stop our bodies from producing enough of
the hormone melatonin, which makes us feel sleepy. Essentially,
the light tricks our body into thinking it's still day time.

In the second case study, a 27-year-old woman complained of
Restless Leg Syndrome, and found her sleep efficiency was only
60%, according to a tracker.

After some ongoing tests and adjustments to her lifestyle, she
went into the lab for a polysomnogram - a type of test that
measures the depth of sleep. The results showed she managed to
sleep deeply, but she couldn't shake the tracker results from her
mind, and asked "then why does my Fitbit say I am sleeping
poorly?"

Rather than relying on how they felt, people in the study seemed
to be unable to ignore their trackers. It was unclear whether the
patients had real sleep problems before they started using apps,
but it is certainly possible that they didn't help.

Life gets in the way of this sometimes, but the advice is to try
and wake up at the same time even if you've had a late night. It
will probably be painful to drag yourself up every day, but
you'll feel the benefits in the long run.